Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf in TGL Finals with eyes on playing 2026 Masters

The five-time Masters champion may make more than one stop on his road to Augusta National Golf Club

Tiger Woods aims to play in the 2026 Masters, but before he can commit to the first major of the year at the course where he's had his most success, the 15-time major champion has decided to ramp up his play with a return to competitive golf on the final night of the TGL season. Woods will suit up for his Jupiter Links GC, which needs to win two matches on Tuesday night to claim the TGL championship, the league announced.

Jupiter Links fell to Los Angeles Golf Club on Monday night in the first match of TGL's best-of-three finals. Should Woods lead his team to victory Tuesday evening, an immediate rubber match will be held. It is not yet known whether Tiger would play both matches if the opportunity presents itself.

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, has been the most dominant figure at Augusta National Golf Club for nearly three decades. Over the last few weeks, he has left the door open for playing in the 2026 edition of the tournament despite undergoing his latest back surgery in October 2025. That surgery to repair a collapsed lumbar disc was Woods' seventh since 2014 and his second in the span of 13 months. 

Woods also ruptured his Achilles one month before the 2025 Masters, but he previously stated that he's fully recovered from that surgery, listing the final hurdle he needed to clear to return to competitive action as becoming comfortable with his back. Woods has not played a tournament since the 2024 Open Championship.

The magical run of Woods' Jupiter Links squad to the TGL Finals presented Tiger with an opportunity to get some competitive swings in the controlled environment of the SoFi Center. Woods has spent this TGL season as the coach/cheerleader of his young Jupiter Links teammates, but he will now step into the lineup for the first time in 2026 with everything on the line.